Artificial intelligence and medical futility.

Area of Science:

• Medical Ethics
• Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare
• End-of-Life Care

Background:

• Medical futility determination is complex, involving conceptual, empirical, and ethical disputes.
• These disputes create significant challenges for patients, families, healthcare providers, and legal systems.
• There is a practical need to resolve futility questions in individual cases.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the ethical and practical implications of using artificial intelligence (AI) in medical futility decisions.
• To assess whether AI tools can ethically and effectively assist in resolving futility disputes.
• To analyze the potential benefits and risks of AI in end-of-life care decision-making.

Main Methods:

• A critical narrative review of existing scholarship on medical futility ethics.
• Survey of current and potential medical AI applications relevant to futility.
• Philosophical analysis of AI's ethical use, applying principles like autonomy, beneficence, and justice.

Main Results:

• AI use in futility determination carries risks, such as exacerbating self-fulfilling prophecies.
• Under specific conditions, medical AI can ethically aid in preventing or resolving futility disputes.
• Careful consideration of AI's role is necessary to mitigate potential negative impacts.

Conclusions:

• AI holds potential to ethically contribute to preventing and resolving medical futility disputes.
• The ethical application of AI in this context depends heavily on its integration and regulation.
• Responsible implementation is crucial for AI to support ethical end-of-life care decision-making.